Adoption of the bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide derived from the failure of Turkish policy towards Armenia, a turkologist said.

According to Anush Hovhannisyan passage of the bill by the French National Assembly is Armenia’s victory but “we should not forget that politics is based on mutual interest. For now, interests of Armenia and France meet.”

Reflecting on Armenian-Turkish relations, the expert said that the story with protocols showed that Turkey has no intention to normalize relations with Armenia.

“Adoption of the bill is a response to unfulfilled promises by Turkey,” Hovhannisyan said.

On December 22, French National Assembly passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial. The draft law envisages a year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros for those who publicly deny the Armenian Genocide in France.